'Stand Your Ground' Law Focus of March Rally in Tally

The parents of slain teen Jordan Davis said Wednesday they will join the parents of slaying victim Trayvon Martin and the widow of a man shot to death in a Florida movie theater to talk with legislators in Tallahassee about the state's so-called stand your ground law.

This Feb. 4, 2014 file photo shows a small memorial to Jordan Davis planted outside the courthouse in Jacksonville

Credit Bob Mack / Associated Press

Ron Davis and Lucia McBath said they plan to visit Tallahassee on March 10 for a rally to protest the law.

Their son was shot by Michael Dunn, a white software developer, in Jacksonville in November 2012. Dunn was convicted earlier this month on multiple counts of attempted murder for shooting into a carful of teenagers outside a convenience store. Jordan Davis, a black teen, was killed in the shooting, but the jury couldn't reach a verdict on the first-degree murder charge against Dunn. A mistrial was declared on that count.

Davis and McBath say they will be joined by the parents of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year old black teen who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford in February 2012. Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013.

Like Zimmerman, Dunn said he felt his life was in danger when he fired the shots. Florida's stand your ground law was technically not part of either trial, but Davis and McBath say the grey areas in the law, and in the self-defense law, should be clarified and that's why they are marching in Tallahassee.

Also joining the parents will be Nicole Oulson, the widow of a man shot and killed in a Tampa movie theater in January, Davis said. The man accused of killing Chad Oulson is a retired Tampa Police captain who said he feared for his life after he and Oulson got into an argument over cellphone texting.

"We hope that legislators will see a need for someone to draft a bill to make an amendment to stand your ground so the language is not ambiguous," said Ron Davis.

The Rev. Al Sharpton is expected to attend the March 10 rally in Tallahassee, according to Sharpton's National Action Network website.

It's unclear whether the state Legislature will change the law; one bill aimed to repeal stand your ground has already been killed in the Republican dominated House. Several self-defense and use-of-deadly-force bills are expected to be considered.